Notice2024-22038
Eldorado and Stanislaus National Forests; California; Mokelumne Amador Calaveras Forest Resilience Project
Primary source
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Published
September 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentForest Service
Abstract
The Forest Service ("Forest Service"), United States Department of Agriculture is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Mokelumne Amador Calaveras (MAC) Forest Resilience Project. The MAC Forest Resilience Project is a 246,838- acres planning effort designed to address the threats wildfire and climate change elicit to watershed resiliency at a scale and intensity that will be effective in improving our ability to protect communities, critical infrastructure, wildlife habitat and ecosystem services. Current forest conditions have placed the Project Area at an elevated risk of high-severity wildfires. The proposed action includes vegetation management treatments designed to better align current forest structure and composition with desired conditions, focusing on fuel reduction, forest thinning, prescribed fire, fuel break construction and maintenance, non-native invasive plant control and eradication, and other ecological and watershed restoration activities. The Planning, Appeals, and Litigation System identification number for the project is 65796.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 187 (Thursday, September 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 187 (Thursday, September 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78842-78844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22038]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Eldorado and Stanislaus National Forests; California; Mokelumne
Amador Calaveras Forest Resilience Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service (``Forest Service''), United States
Department of Agriculture is preparing an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Mokelumne Amador Calaveras (MAC) Forest
Resilience Project. The MAC Forest Resilience Project is a 246,838-
acres planning effort designed to address the threats wildfire and
[[Page 78843]]
climate change elicit to watershed resiliency at a scale and intensity
that will be effective in improving our ability to protect communities,
critical infrastructure, wildlife habitat and ecosystem services.
Current forest conditions have placed the Project Area at an elevated
risk of high-severity wildfires. The proposed action includes
vegetation management treatments designed to better align current
forest structure and composition with desired conditions, focusing on
fuel reduction, forest thinning, prescribed fire, fuel break
construction and maintenance, non-native invasive plant control and
eradication, and other ecological and watershed restoration activities.
The Planning, Appeals, and Litigation System identification number for
the project is 65796.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by October 28, 2024. The draft environmental impact statement is
expected mid-2025 and the final environmental impact statement is
expected early 2026.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments via mail or by hand delivery to
Eldorado National Forest Supervisor's Office at 100 Forni Road,
Placerville, CA 95667. Comments may be submitted electronically online
via the project website <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=65796">https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=65796</a>.
From the project website, click on the `Comment/Object on Project' link
located on the right-hand side under the `Get Connected' box.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carinna Robertson, Resource Management
Staff Officer via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d8bbb9aab1b6b6b9f6aab7babdaaacabb7b698adabbcb9f6bfb7ae"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a191b081314141b540815181f080e0915143a0f091e1b541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>, or by phone at
1-209-813-6039. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose of MAC Forest Resilience Project is to restore
ecosystem health and resilience to wildfire, insect and disease,
drought, and climate change; reduce safety hazards across public lands;
reduce the spread of non-native species; maintain and support local
economies, and maintain and improve aspen groves, riparian areas,
streams, and meadows. The proposed actions are needed to reduce the
risks of wildfire within and adjacent to USDA Forest Service managed
lands, improve and maintain safe ingress/egress routes for fire
personnel, equipment, and the public, maintain and promote plant and
wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and reduce the spread of non-native
invasive plants.
Proposed Action
The MAC Forest Resilience Project will include a broad range of
management activities to meet the purpose and need of the project. A
combination of commercial and non-commercial mechanical forest
thinning, other mechanical and hand fuel treatments, prescribed fire,
hazard tree removal, salvage logging, invasive species treatments, and
additional ecological restoration activities are proposed. Forest
thinning will be implemented to reduce fuel loads, reduce stand
densities, and increase forest heterogeneity across the landscape.
Multiple logging systems, road maintenance, temporary road
construction, and landing development will be required for product
removal during forest thinning.
Shaded fuel breaks will be constructed and maintained to break up
large expanses of continuous fuels, support firefighter access and
safety, and provide control points for the implementation of prescribed
fire.
Prescribed fire treatments will be implemented, including, but not
limited to, pile burning and understory broadcast burning, to reduce
fuel loads, increase understory productivity and diversity, and allow
fire to perform its natural ecological role.
Hazard trees will be identified, felled, and removed to improve
safety along roadways, recreation areas, trails, access routes,
infrastructure, and other specific areas. Salvage of insect-, disease-,
drought-, and fire-killed trees is included to efficiently eliminate
accumulated fuels and to facilitate a rapid response to mortality
events.
Non-native invasive plant control and eradication treatments are
proposed for known infestations and for future new infestations.
Manual, biological, and chemical control or targeted grazing methods
will be used to eradicate infestations or to contain or control their
spread.
Ecological restoration activities will include aspen grove
maintenance and improvement, riparian improvements such as native plant
plantings and streambank stabilization, removal of encroaching conifers
and trail and road rerouting around meadows, as well as process-based
stream restoration techniques and aquatic organism passage
improvements.
Treatments will be implemented using a staged approach over the
next 10 years. Follow-up treatments to achieve or maintain desired
conditions will be implemented beyond 10 years. To determine priorities
and locations for treatments, spatial modeling will be used to identify
focus areas for maximizing effectiveness. The proposed action will
include an extensive list of management requirements, including
restrictions, constraints, and retention requirements for protection of
resources and to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations,
and policy.
Forest Plan Amendments
The proposed action will include project-specific forest plan
amendments to implement the management approaches and conservation
measures presented in the Conservation Strategy for the California
Spotted Owl in the Sierra Nevada (USDA Forest Service 2019).
The EIS will also consider an alternative developed in compliance
with the existing Forest Plans to enable a comparative assessment of
the proposed action developed in compliance with the project-specific
forest plan amendments and similar actions proposed under current plan
direction. The Eldorado and Stanislaus Forests will each make
independent decisions on the potential future adoption of any project-
specific Forest Plan amendments included in the EIS.
Expected Impacts
The MAC Forest Resilience Project EIS will evaluate both the
effectiveness of the proposed action and action alternative(s) at
meeting the purpose and needs of the project and the potential
environmental consequences of these proposed actions in comparison to
the no action alternative. The EIS will focus the analysis to address
significant issues identified through the public scoping process. The
project is expected to significantly increase forest health and
resilience by reducing the likelihood of high-severity wildfire,
reducing stand densities, and increasing forest heterogeneity.
Restoration to healthier, more resilient and more fire-resistant
forests will reduce uncontrolled emissions and public health impacts
from wildfire smoke over the long term, improve growth, life span, and
carbon storage of residual trees. Surface water quality, supply, and
reliability will be protected by reducing fire-induced soil erosion,
benefiting local and downstream users, hydroelectric and water supply
infrastructure, and special-status species.
The consequences of taking no action are high. The area would
remain at an
[[Page 78844]]
elevated risk of high-severity wildfire that would result in forest and
wildlife habitat losses and watershed degradation. The treatments
proposed to create the desired conditions may cause short-term impacts
to sensitive resources, including California spotted owl protected
activity centers.
Responsible Officials
The Responsible Officials will be Amy Reid, Acting Forest
Supervisor, Eldorado National Forest, and Jason Kuiken, Forest
Supervisor, Stanislaus National Forest.
Scoping Comments and the Objection Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement. In this process
the Agency is requesting comments on potential alternatives and
impacts, and identification of any relevant information, studies, or
analyses of any kind concerning impacts affecting the quality of the
human environment. There will be up to two public workshops during the
scoping period.
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of
the final EIS; therefore, comments should be provided prior to the
close of the comment period and should clearly articulate the
reviewer's concerns and contentions. Commenting during scoping and any
other designated opportunity to comment provided by the Responsible
Official as prescribed by the applicable regulations will also govern
eligibility to object once the final EIS and draft Record of Decision
has been published. Comments received in response to this solicitation,
including names and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the
public record for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously
will be accepted and considered; however, they will not be used to
establish eligibility for the objection process.
Objections will be accepted only from those who have previously
submitted specific written comments regarding the proposed project
during scoping or other designated opportunity for public comment in
accordance with Sec. 218.5(a). Issues raised in objections must be
based on previously submitted timely, specific written comments
regarding the proposed project unless based on new information arising
after designated opportunities.
Permits, Licenses or other Authorizations Required
The Project includes actions within aquatic or riparian areas that
may be subject to future permitting requirements under Section 404 of
the Clean Water Act (CWA), Section 401 of the CWA, and/or Section 1600
et seq of California Fish and Game Code. Additionally, the Project will
require consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) on listed species. Based on current and potential future
funding from the state of California, compliance with the California
Environmental Quality Act will be required.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Given the purpose and need, the Responsible Officials will
determine whether the proposed actions comply with all applicable laws
governing Forest Service actions and with the applicable standards and
guidelines found in the Forest Plans of the Eldorado National Forest
and Stanislaus National Forest; whether the EIS has sufficient
environmental analysis to make an informed decision; and whether the
proposed action and any action alternatives meet the purpose and needs
for action. With this information, the Responsible Officials must
decide whether to select the proposed action and what, if any,
additional actions should be required.
Substantive Provisions
The substantive provisions of 36 CFR 219.8 through 219.11 that may
directly apply to the proposed project-specific forest plan amendments
are 36 CFR 219.9 Diversity of Plant and Animal Communities, (a)
Ecosystem plan components, (1) Ecosystem integrity (36 CFR 219 (a)(1));
36 CFR 219.9 Diversity of Plant and Animal Communities, (a) Ecosystem
plan components, (2) Ecosystem diversity, (i) key characteristics
associated with the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem types (36 CFR
219(a)(2)(I)); 36 CFR 219.9 Diversity of Plant and Animal Communities,
(a) Ecosystem plan components, (2) Ecosystem diversity, (ii) rare
aquatic and terrestrial plant and animal communities (36 CFR 219
(a)(2)(ii)); and 36 CFR 219.8 Sustainability, (b) Social and Economic
Sustainability, (1) Social, cultural, and economic conditions relevant
to the area influenced by the plan (36 CFR 219.8(b)(1)).
Keith Lannom,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2024-22038 Filed 9-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
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